Barnet return to league action this weekend when they travel to Barrow tomorrow afternoon, aiming to clinch their third straight win in all competitions.
The Bees enter the game off the back of a 4-2 FA Cup victory over Braintree Town on Saturday. David Tutonda opened the scoring with only six minutes on the clock before Jack Taylor added a second 10 minutes later. However, Reece Grant pulled one back for The Iron on the stroke of half-time. Lyle Della-Verde bagged an equaliser on 66 minutes but goals from Elliott Johnson and Cheye Alexander secured Barnet’s place in Round One.
Last Meeting
The last time these two sides met was over 27 years ago, during Barnet’s Conference title winning season of 1991.
However, they found themselves on the receiving end of a 4-2 score-line that day with Gary Bull and Roger Willis netting for The Bees.
Manager: Ian Evatt
Ian Evatt took charge of Barrow in the summer following a short stint as caretaker boss at Chesterfield.
The former defender played over 250 times in two spells for The Spireites before occupying the managerial role at the back end of last season. He was also in charge of the side that lost 3-0 to The Bees in the final game of the campaign. Evatt was captain of the club and even picked up the Player of the Season award after the 2003-04 season. He also ended the final season of his first spell claiming the SIFA Player of the Season Award whilst just missing out on the CFSS Player of the Season Award.
After beginning his playing career at Derby County, Evatt went on to play for Northampton and QPR before signing for Blackpool where he was part of their Championship promotion side of 2010.
One to Watch: John Rooney
Midfielder John Rooney, younger brother of former England striker Wayne, joined Barrow in June and has featured in every game so far this season, bagging three goals along the way.
The 27-year-old has a bucket load of experience having played in the EFL with Macclesfield, Barnsley and Bury whilst also having a crack at MLS football with New York Red Bulls in 2011 too. Rooney is also no stranger to the National League, gracing the division with Chester, Wrexham and Guiseley in his previous five seasons, scoring 41 goals in 171 appearances.
The midfielder is a proven goal scorer in England’s fifth tier and will be eager to extend his tally to four for the season tomorrow afternoon, although he is without a goal in four games.
Rooney will also be looking to create goals, put in a tackle and use his experience to cause The Bees as much problems as possible.
Recent Form:
Sitting 13th with 21 points to their name, a win for Barrow tomorrow would see them leapfrog The Bees in the league standings.
The Bluebirds have won three of their last five league games and go into tomorrow’s game off the back of a 3-2 FA Cup defeat away to Chorley. A 2-0 victory over Maidenhead last month was quickly overshadowed by a 2-1 home loss to Gateshead three days later. However, they rapidly returned to winning ways, beating Dover 2-0 before claiming a 2-1 win over Sutton United. They couldn’t make it three wins on the bounce though as they fell to a 2-1 defeat to Bromley in their most recent league game just under two weeks ago.
As for their home form, Barrow have clinched five wins out of their eight matches in Cumbria this season, losing the other three.
The Bluebirds have also bagged 20 league goals this season, five more than Barnet. At the other end of the field, they have conceded 19 in comparison to the 17 John Still’s men have let in.
Last 5 league matches: WLWWL
Connections:
Byron Harrison joined Barnet in the summer after leaving Barrow at the end of last season. The striker signed for The Bluebirds in 2016 following his release from Chesterfield and went on to make over 60 appearances, scoring 32 goals.
